January 2017 Volume 2 Issue 2 LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE UPDATE

Welcome Back! A Look In This Issue Thank you to those that came out to Welcome Back! Page 1 DTLA’s The Jonathon Club last week for SCCA’s Legislative Meet and Greet. Trump vs. California Page 2 Gerald Mouzis from The Mouzis Law CalTrans Vehicle Miles Traveled Page 2 Firm and Diana Dron from Monteleone California’s Future Report Page 2 & McCrory gave a nice presentation on new key construction laws for 2017. U.S. Senate Confirms Chao Page 3 Thank you Gerald and Diana. Rumor Has It Page 3 We spent the evening on the Worth Repeating Page 3 Club’s rooftop where we socialized Todd Bloomstine with Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton), Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Buena Park). Thank you to those legislators for taking time out of their busy days and spending time with us. Now is certainly the time to reach out and get to know the legislature. In fact, it is the absolutely best time for SCCA to re- establish its commitment to legislative outreach. The 2017-18 legislative class is the least experienced since 1935. For comparison’s sake, the cumulative legislative experience for the legislature is 431 years. Sadly, that’s about three and a half years per legislator. The total legislative experience in 1991, the year after the terms limit initiative passed, was 1,265 years. Said another way, today’s legislature has one-third the experience it did 25 years ago. Today’s legislators have very little legislative experience. That can be dangerous when they consider complex policy issues because they lack significant understanding of all the various perspectives. There truly is no better time to get to know them while they form their policy positions. The next SCCA Legislative Committee event is the Sacramento Legislative Day on Wednesday, March 1. Come on up to Sacramento for an exciting day. And while you’re enjoying Sacramento and our great Capitol Building, you’ll concurrently be providing your SCCA Legislative Committee Chairman Chuck Poss addresses perspective to the legislature’s understanding of the construction the SCCA Legislative Meet and Greet attendees on January industry. Something they’ll certainly appreciate and absolutely 26 at The Jonathan Club. need. You can contact the SCCA office for more information.

www.sccaweb.org Trump vs. CA: Xavier Becerra Confirmed as California’s Attorney General In December, Governor Jerry Brown nominated Xavier Becerra On balance, many are urging careful consideration to cases as California’s next Attorney General. Becerra was confirmed by pursued by California. Stating that Becerra’s greatest asset (and the Assembly and Senate in late January. influence) will be in the cases he selects to NOT bring against the federal administration. This is a much more reasonable and “Xavier has been an outstanding public servant — in the State moderate approach to maintaining California’s priorities in Legislature, the U.S. Congress and as a deputy attorney general,” the face of changing federal policies. Many believe this more Brown said in a statement. “I’m confident he will be a champion moderate approach will serve California well in the long run. for all Californians and help our state aggressively combat climate change.” The choice of Becerra for Attorney General surprised many, since most assumed the Governor would choose a “caretaker” CalTrans Vehicle to assume the role until the 2018 election. Instead, Governor Brown selected the first Latino to hold the post. Becerra has a background of working for former Republican Governor George Miles Traveled (VMT) Deukmejian in the Attorney General’s office, serving as a state legislator, and 24 years in Congress. Revisiting the Gas Tax Many have urged Becerra to use his “top cop” authority to actively resist the policies generated by the Trump administration Conversation and aggressively oppose the administration. The California Transportation Commission and the California State Transportation Agency have teamed up according to requirements found in Senate Bill 1077 (signed by Governor Brown in 2014) to create the California Road Charge Pilot California’s Future Program. Recently, the Public Policy Institute of California released As the graphic below shows, California is receiving less and less a study examining several industry sectors across the state revenue through the current gas tax structure. At the same time, from housing to corrections to the economy. The report shows more and more Californian’s are spending time driving while encouraging news regarding the housing industry. Specifically, spending less on gas due to more fuel-efficient vehicles. This home values are increasing, fewer homeowners are upside down means less gas tax revenue with greater road use at the same time. in their loans, and new construction permits are significantly The California Road Charge Program seeks to determine a increasing – on target to total more than 90,000 for 2016. This new way to establish a transportation funding source that matches returns the industry to 2008 levels. with the amount of time that drivers are spending on the road. While this is good news, the state should be constructing With the launch of this pilot program, volunteers are needed to 180,000 homes per year. California will continue to experience participate. You can learn more about the pilot program and sign increased housing prices while demand continues to outpace up to participate by clicking here. available housing. The report on California’s economy is also promising. Unemployment is approaching a 30-year low. California’s job growth has outpaced the national average for five years straight, with last year’s growth at 2.7 percent. Unemployment rates are currently at 5.5 percent, and has steadily declined from the high rates at the peak of the recession. Of course the labor participation rate, not mentioned in the report, is still recovering. You can read the PPIC report by clicking here.

www.sccaweb.org Senate Confirms Chao for Transportation Secretary: At Confirmation Hearing, Chao Gives Peak into Trump’s Infrastructure Plans On Tuesday, January 31, the U.S. Senate confirmed Elaine Chao saying private-sector financing will be a key element and that as Transportation Secretary with a 93-6 vote. it will include direct federal funding, too. Chao also said that addressing the Highway Trust Fund’s persistent revenue shortfall Earlier this month, at the Commerce, Science and Transportation will be high on Trump’s list as he begins his term in office.” Committee confirmation hearing, Senators pressed Chao for details on President Trump’s $1 Trillion infrastructure plan. Chao’s comments focus on capitalizing public-private While Chao refused to go into details, she did provide a peak at partnerships, while incentivizing investment opportunities for some priorities. pension funds, endowments, and equity firms that can invest in infrastructure. A report from the Engineering News Record says, “She did outline some broad features about the still- undeveloped proposal, ENR goes on to report that, “Chao also indicated that the program would have “a mix of practical solutions—both public and private—that provide the greatest cost-benefit to the public.” Chao indicated the Trump administration is forming an Rumor Has It... infrastructure task force to develop a comprehensive infrastructure plan. This is an opportunity to ensure that California’s priorities Governor Jerry Brown is funding the are part of the conversation and plan developed by the task force. Dig Alert Board for $3.8 million. A leaked report does show several infrastructure projects on the Trump Administration’s list. Those projects include the Cadiz Fact Check Water Conveyance Project in order to store water in aquifers, True! But not until the 2017-2018 fiscal year. a desalinization plant in Huntington Beach and an electricity transmission system stretching from Wyoming to southern Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) doesn’t expect any California. significant movement on the Dig Alert board or issues until the start of the 2017 fiscal year.

Worth Repeating... Nurtured in the honky-tonks and dance halls of Bakersfield in Kern County and dozens of other Central Valley places, California country music – as exemplified in such performers as Gene Autry, Bob Wills, Spade Cooley, Rose and the Maddox Brother, Buck SCCA Contact Information Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam – reminded the nation that California was not exclusively a chardonnay-and-cheese Southern California Contractors Association enclave of coastal sophisticates, but was also the hardscrabble home of P: 657-223-0800 | F: 657-223-0801 flag-waving working men and women whose musical loyalties lay with the Grand Ole Opry: truck drivers, waitresses, small farmers, [email protected] linemen, and mechanics, sometimes down on their luck, who spoke 600 City Parkway West., Suite 165 with a twang, wore boots and jeans, and were living and loving, Orange, CA 92868 smoking and drinking, cheating and repenting, and singing about it all in a cavalcade of songs that had a way of getting to the heart of Todd Bloomstine America itself. SCCA Legislative Advocate Kevin Starr, September 3, 1940 – January 14, 2017, 916-444-9453 California State Librarian, 1994-2004 [email protected] www.sccaweb.org